Electrical utilities gradually replace traditional means for managing and controlling the distribution and consumption of electrical power to industrial and residential customers with intelligent electronic devices (“IEDs”), such as digital electric power and energy meters, electronically-controlled Remote Terminal Units (“RTUs”), and the like.
In operation, conventional IEDs provide a broad selection of monitoring individual electrical services or individual loads. However, despite a significant effort in the art, there is still a need for IEDs capable of simultaneous monitoring parameters of different electrical services or pluralities of loads, as well as being provided with a means of data connectivity to communication networks. Therefore, further improvements in IEDs would be desirable.